Last year’s event, which was held in Japantown, attracted 125,000 people. This year the event should prove even larger, not to mention super kawaii (that’s Japanese for cute), given that it will take place across the city at different venues, including Fort Mason Center, Union Square and the Castro Theatre.

The celebration will showcase everything from Japanese fashion (see story in Sunday’s Style section) to cosplay and anime — not to mention dozens of food and drink offerings.

Ticket prices vary for the J-Pop Summit. For more info: www.j-pop.com.

Here are five food-centric destinations at the J-Pop Summit that we don’t want to miss.

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Junmai class sake wines at True Sake on Hayes Street.
11/26/03 in San Francisco.
DARRYL BUSH / The Chronicle
True Sake in San Francisco offers an array of sake, but don't look for anything local -- it only carries Japanese brands.

sake04_017db.jpg
Junmai class sake wines at True Sake on Hayes...

In previous years, J-Pop’s sake tasting events have proven so popular that the festival has created a separate spin-off summit devoted entirely to celebrating Japan’s national beverage. The Sake Summit will be held at Union Square Park from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., on Aug. 8-9, and will feature multiple sake tasting sessions and retail booths. Participants will include a host of locals, including Bay Area sake micro-brewery Sequoia Sake, Berkeley’s Takara Sake and Hayes Valley’s True Sake, among many others. The summit will also feature live Japanese traditional music and Japanese food vendors. Tickets are $30 in advance (available until Aug. 7) and $35 at the door. 21 and over. www.sakesummit.com

2. Hello Kitty Food Truck (Fort Mason)

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Power Rangers are fans of the Hello Kitty Cafe food truck at the 48th annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, April 11, 2015.

Power Rangers are fans of the Hello Kitty Cafe food truck at the...

Southern California-based (and Sanrio-licensed) Hello Kitty Food Truck , which made a huge splash at Japantown’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring, will mark its Bay Area return at the J-Pop Summit. Expect long lines of devoted fans, plus plenty of uber-adorable Hello Kitty-themed sweets, like rainbow-colored macarons and bow-wearing doughnuts. www.face

Another food truck we can’t wait to try is Atsushi Inoue and Peter Megumi Camacho’s J-Shack, San Francisco’s first food truck to specialize in Japanese-style crepes. The mobile creperie will serve up an array of sweet and savory variations, including the banana and custard-filled Harajuku Favorite crepe and the okonomiyaki-inspired Okonomi crepe. Who needs Nutella? www.jshacksf.com

Photo: John Storey / Special To The Chronicle

Matcha tea being whisked at Samovar in San Francisco.

Matcha tea being whisked at Samovar in San Francisco.

4. Matcha Summit (Union Square)

Learn the difference between sen-cha (green tea) and gouji-cha (roasted tea) at the festival’s other food-related summit, which is all about matcha. Happening alongside Union Square’s Sake Summit, the Matcha Summit will highlight matcha-infused products ranging from teas to sweets. Vendors include Ito En (Japan’s largest green tea producer), which will showcase its product line Matcha Love , and local tea company Lupicia, which will serve a special festival menu that includes warm matcha au laits. Japanese sweets specialist Minamoto Kitchoan, which has outposts around the globe, including one on Market Street, will offer sweets to pair with tea. Plus: Demonstrations from the Urasenke and Omotesenke schools of tea ceremonies.

At the MoshiMoshi Nippon fashion booth, look for one of Japan’s newest food trends: onigirazu. It is essentially a hybrid of home-style onigiri that is then stuffed with no-holds-barred fillings — like spam and egg, fried chicken, hot dogs, burger patties or seafood salad — and then pressed into the shape of a sandwich. Like many Japanese foods, the more kawaii the onigirazu, the better. http://moshi